'Inappropriate for this neighborhood': Edison planners reject 3-story mixed-use building
EDISON – The township Planning Board has rejected a proposal for a three-story mixed-use building on Amboy Avenue with first-floor commercial space and two floors of apartments.
And parking was a key issue mentioned by residents of the Clara Barton section, as well as some Board members.
"There is a deficiency in parking in general. The least we should do is say we can't grant the variance for parking," said Planning Board member Jacob Rieder, who was among the four members who voted against the approval.
A&D Holding LLC previously constructed a four-story building on Amboy Avenue with a doctor's office on the ground floor and three floors of apartments. It was now looking for a similar development on an adjacent property also on Amboy Avenue that it owns, which is the former location of the doctor's office as well as a hair salon.
The plan was to share some parking. The four-story building has 15 one-bedroom apartments and proposed in the new three-story building was eight one-bedroom units, including two with dens that could be used as home office space, and a 1,500-square foot commercial retail space on the ground floor. The applicant was two parking spaces short of the number required, even with credit for two electric vehicle parking spaces.
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It's unclear if the applicant plans to revise the project and return to the Planning Board.
Kristine Sasso of Cabot Avenue said she can see directly into the upper floors of the four-story building, and tenants in that building can see right into her bedroom. In addition, she said the existing building protrudes out further than any other building on Amboy Avenue and is not in character with the neighborhood where a similar style was planned for the new building.
She said plans showed only five angled parking spaces on Cabot Avenue and when vehicles are parked there, they stick out into the narrow dead-end street, which has also become an area for parents to drop off their children who attend nearby Herbert Hoover Middle School. Other residents questioned why no sidewalks were planned along Cabot Avenue.
Clara Barton resident Sue Malone-Barber said the size of the development was too big for the size of the lot and the parking needed, and it will create more traffic for the single-family homes.
"I think what's happening on Amboy Avenue is what's happening everywhere, and I think we're a little bit unique over here in Clara Barton. The trend now is high-density housing, and there is no real plan for how you are going to handle the traffic," Malone-Barber said.
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She sees the same thing happening in Metuchen and Woodbridge, but the difference is along Amboy Avenue every connecting street has residential homes. She said about nine streets spill onto Amboy Avenue and if three- or four-story buildings and high-density housing are constructed on each corner, sunlight to the nearby single-family homes will be blocked.
That's why Malone-Barber and other Clara Barton section residents have asked the Township Council to repeal a section of the Amboy Avenue Redevelopment Plan which allows a maximum building height of four stories, so that the maximum building height along Amboy Avenue reverts to three stories.
She added that with the tall buildings, the apartment dwellers will be able to look into their neighbor's windows.
"It's inappropriate for this neighborhood," she said. "We're trying to just preserve what we have and it's a struggle."
Malone-Barber said residents are waiting to see the next draft of the master plan after a prior draft recommended three-story buildings on Amboy Avenue and included exceptions for the section of the roadway near the New Jersey Turnpike, including the Jade Dynasty and former Stewart's restaurant lots.
"It's an ongoing battle," she said. "All these properties that come up for sale on Amboy Avenue, they want the maximum amount of development they can squeeze into the space, so I feel that will set a precedent on how you get away with not having room for an entrance or an exit."
She said township's zoning ordinances need to be tighter and applicants need to develop what will fit.
"If there is not enough parking the size of the development needs to be reduced," she said.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison NJ planners reject 3-story mixed-use building in Clara Barton
